Matthew Harrison wants his clients to feel at ease, right from their first phone call to the office visit.

"When you actually get good customer service, you're almost surprised," said Harrison, a physical therapist and founder of Harrison Physical Therapy in Fishkill. "That just sets you off in the right direction. I want people to be pleased with the practice even before they meet me."

Treating clients well, said Harrison, not only makes them happy clients, but also boosts the company's marketing.

"My theory is that customer service leads to better outcomes," said Harrison, whose 12-year-old practice employs four physical therapists who treat people with orthopedic and sports injuries.

"We try to make our patients our fans," he said. "That's how we market; we market through our patients. We tie it together. Our customer service leads to our marketing. You have to go there."

Deborah Garry is president and partner of BBG&G Advertising & PR, a full-service marketing and public-relations company that serves a variety of industries and is based in Campbell Hall, Orange County, with a satellite office in Poughkeepsie.

Good customer service, said Garry, fosters communication and teamwork among management, staff and clients while validating a company's outward messages. That means when potential clients call a company, their experience should meet their preconceived idea of what the company is based on the firm's website, advertisements and social media. If it doesn't, the firm could risk losing that customer.

With that, Garry said, good customer service feeds word-of-mouth referrals in a positive way, adding fuel to any marketing campaign.

"You can either increase your chances of gaining a new customer or decrease your chances of gaining a new customer, depending on what people say about your customer service," she said.

According to a news release relating to the 2011 Customer Experience Impact Report commissioned by RightNow/Oracle and conducted by Harris Interactive, 89 percent of consumers switch brands for better customer service, while 73 percent become brand-loyal because of a great customer experience.

Harrison's entire staff works to put clients at ease. Reception personnel, for example, offer a friendly approach when acquiring information about a client's condition and available insurance, and provide scheduling options for appointments to meet each client's need.

The team works to stay punctual, with the practice's physical therapists meeting clients in the reception area before bringing them back to the therapy room.

"We introduce ourselves on a first-name basis," said Harrison. "I think that gives a level of we're working with you; we're on the same level and we're going to get better together.

"It makes them feel less intimidated."

Top-level customer service also ensures clients' comfort in providing a full history of their conditions, an important part of the overall plan and goal-setting aspect of physical therapy.

With that, markers are set along the way, allowing clients to see their progress, as therapy could involve two or three visits per week for a couple of weeks to six months.

Moreover, an ongoing, open dialogue between clients and their therapists allows for adjustments to be made as needed, keeping clients on track. The idea is to stay on top of problems keeping a client from doing the exercises and inhibiting the client's progress. Afterward, a client completion survey provides the practice with information on different areas of client satisfaction.

"My marketing is through the success of my patients," said Harrison. "When they leave here, I don't want them to be satisfied — I want them to feel highly satisfied that they've achieved their highest level."

Karen Maserjian Shan is a freelance writer: mkshan@optonline.net

Ways to Improve customer satisfaction

• Listen and learn. Take notes or repeat back what your customers say. Ask clarifying questions, and if you can't respond immediately, say when you can and follow through. Also, look for ways to keep in touch, perhaps through in-store or post-sale surveys to find out what your customers would like to see, and stay active on social media.

• Treat customers as you'd like to be. Greet customers by putting them at ease and let them know they're important. Ask how you can help and reassure disgruntled clients by following through with a resolution.

• Carry customer service across touch points. Work customer-service goals wherever your business has a presence, both online and offline. If you have a presence on sites such as Facebook, Twitter, Yelp and so on, be sure to actively listen, engage, monitor and respond to your customers online.